Addicted to Home Design

Monthly Archives: August 2013

Ever dream of selling all of your worldly possessions and downsizing to the mountains? Or looking for a remote getaway? Snowy Range Cabin in Centennial, Wyoming seems like a world away, yet it’s within the budget of many at just $89,900. Located just a mile from town and the Medicine Bow National Forest, this cabin offers both modern day conveniences and a recreational playground.

It was built in 2002 and has one bedroom, a loft, one bathroom and a kitchen. There’s one catch, it’s just 288 square feet. So, you have to be ready to live simply and without a big group. Although the listing does claim the cabin can sleep four comfortably.

The lot is elevated and offers breathtaking views of the Snowy Range Mountains, Jelm Mountain, and Lake Hattie. The next owner will also have the opportunity to buy one or two of the adjacent lots.

I love a little log cabin and this one is just perfect at 12’x24′. A well, septic, and electric, have already been installed. I would love to spend a weekend here! But, I do think I’d feel a little claustrophobic in that sleeping loft. That looks like some tight quarters.

This is one of those homes you can dream about if you win the lottery. Like one of the largest jackpots. At $30 million this is the most expensive listing in one of the most expensive places to live in the United States.

In the Pacific Heights section of San Francisco, this estate was built in 1894 and is Queen Anne style. The home has 13,500 square feet of living space, 7+ bedrooms and 7+ baths and sits on one of the largest lots in the city at .61 acres.My favorite part of this home, the garden solarium, is shown above. This room also has a koi pond!

The listing says this home has hosted many fabulous events over the years. I can only imagine this solarium has seen its fair share of great gatherings!This home was designed by E. A. Hermann for Captain Hermann Meyer and his wife and eight children. More information about the history of this property can be found here. While I’m so not a fan of the decor, the details and rooms in this home are gorgeous. So if you have $30 million dollars to buy a mansion in San Fran, you probably have some spare cash to remodel this kitchen. It’s in desperate need of some updating! Track lighting? I do like the commercial fan over the huge gas cooktops. I do like the layout of this room and how it’s open to a sitting area, breakfast seating, and has lots of windows!

Here is a part of the house I love just as it is. These built in bookshelves are gorgeous! Although I’d be willing to be the warm lighting on the books is from track lighting. The views from this home are crazy! Can you imagine working with a view like this? While I’d love it, it’d be hard to concentrate on work.The master bedroom has a fireplace, chandelier, master bathroom en suite and sitting area. Check out this picture window from the third floor’s workout room. This massive estate has multiple terraces and outdoor spaces. What a great place to have your morning coffee and look out over the city.

If you’ve ever been to San Francisco you know that space is a premium and this home has lots of space! I love this courtyard space, it looks like a perfect place to meditate.

No this isn’t the county park, this is part of this property!To learn more about this property visit its website here.

Actor Jeremy Renner is a house flipper. Who knew? But, this is no ordinary house flip. This home in the Hollywood Hills recently sold for $24 million, an increase of $17 million in just three years.

This estate has six-bedrooms, 11-baths, and 10,000-square-foot on two acres. Renner’s business partner is actor Kristoffer Winters. Together they’ve flipped more than 20 homes in the past 12 years.

They were going for a 21st century Great Gatsby feel with this remodel and I think they’ve succeeded. This home is amazing.

In addition to all of the art deco pieces, there is a lot of greenery in this home. They’ve carved out an interesting seating area behind the couch.Here is my favorite room in the house. Can you even imagine entertaining here? That may be the most gorgeous home bar I’ve ever seen. More beautiful than a restaurant!

Usually with these homes, I try to give you just 1-2 images per room. But, these are all so beautiful I had a hard time cutting some of these out. Each picture shows something unique. This next shot gives you a good idea of the layout of this room.But, how could I not include this? We get a good look at these amazing chairs. It kind of reminds me of Restoration Hardware’s Aviator Chair. They even have a similar couch. The movie star prints add to the old Hollywood glamour of this home. I love this room and the large windows overlooking the pool. There are lots of places to lounge and dine in this estate. This great room is open to the kitchen. The dining room is equally as gorgeous The floor to ceiling windows are so dramatic.If you’re going to have a super glamourous Hollywood estate, you absolutely must have a screening room with red velvet curtains.And of course it must open to the outdoors. Wow! Here is the backyard view that shows the windows that were visible in the great room and dining room. The terrace is begging to host an amazing outdoor party. I would imagine the square footage of this terrance is equal to an average size home. Next comes his and her bathrooms, and many bedrooms. The man of the house even has a barber chair in his home. Makes perfect sense. If you’re a super famous movie star, you can’t be bothered going to the salon to get your hair done. Her closet has marble in it. Interesting that they staged this area with fresh flowers and one item of lingerie. Can you even imagine doing your makeup here? Wow.

Next are three bedrooms with access to the spectacular grounds. Again the furnishings remind me of Restoration Hardware. Probably even more expensive though. But, similar trunks can be found there.

To read more about this house visit Variety, to see even more images of this house visit its website.

The room looked like it belonged on the set of the Cosby Show or a John Hughes movie. Yellow, floral, stripes, and a green rug that saw its heyday in the early 90’s. But, there was something special about those chairs. I know I’ve seen them in home design magazines gracing much more elegant, modern, eclectic rooms.

Eight vintage Chippendale Chinoiserie chairs. They look coastal, modern, Chinese, and comfortable, all at the same time. My husband wasn’t feeling it. Not even a little bit. He talked me down. I did have a bit of self doubt. They were expensive at $1200 for the eight chairs. But, on the other hand, even eight Ikea chairs at $100 each would be $800. They’d need to be reupholstered and that would add cost. I don’t have room for eight chairs. I wasn’t completely sure I would want them in my kitchen. I could go on and on. Knowing that he wasn’t liking them, we walked away.

When I got home I began to show him good examples of what I’m talking about and how these chairs could fit in a more contemporary design. This image from Domino Magazine is the most like what I’ve love our kitchen to look like.

After doing a little online shopping it became more apparent that these were a good deal. Jonathan Adler sells his custom version of the Chippendale side chair for upwards of $500 per chair!

Even Ballard Designs has their own version, called the Macau chair. It retails for $299.

Then just today I saw this in a post on Apartment Therapy. Once I started paying attention I was seeing these chairs everywhere! I like how light and airy they look in this dining room with a glass table.

Honestly, I wasn’t 100% sold on the concept of these chairs. We saw them on a Saturday. The next day they’d be half off. I was thinking about them again on Saturday morning and my husband went back to the estate sale to find they’d been sold. I’m calling them the chairs that got away. But, maybe someday I’ll have a sunroom with two armchair versions of these chairs. I hope the owner picks a gorgeous fabric!

Taylor Swift’s childhood home recently went on the market, and it’s a beauty. The 3-story classical revival home is located in Wyomissing, Pennsylvania. Swift lived in this home for ten years until she got a development deal from RCA Records when she was 14, and her family moved to Nashville. Although they left this gorgeous house behind, I think they made the right choice.

The 5,050 square foot home is on 3/4 of an acre and is listed for $799,500. According to the current owner, this home underwent extensive renovations since Swift lived here. A before exterior image can be found here.

Can you picture a tween Swift singing under the covered porch? The home really has such an elegant presence.

In a Philly article, the owners said they purchased this home in early 2007, before Swift hit it big. Soon after fans were posing for pictures in front of their house. It’s too bad she didn’t stay and go to prom in Wyomissing. This staircase is the perfect staircase in which to make a grand entrance.

To the right of the foyer is the living room with built-ins flanking the fireplace. Windows are plentiful in this home. I love a home with lots of natural light.

A red dining room. The only way I can forgive this is if it was done to pay homage to Taylor Swift’s Red album. No seriously, I’m not a fan of red dining rooms. But, I know many people are. At least there is white trim and moulding to break it up. Double french doors open to the study.

The listing claims this is the room where Swift played guitar. As much as I’d love this office, this room would have a much better flow as a sunroom/sitting room. This big traditional kitchen is very fitting for this home. I would love to see the before image of this kitchen.

This is the where the home really reveals its charm with lots of details. I love the twin storage areas in this girls room. I wonder if this was Swift’s space? There are 6 bedrooms to choose from.

With five bathrooms, nobody has to wait in line in this house. As beautiful as this bathroom is, the slanted ceiling would be annoying in this shower. Great for a soaking bath. But, I would hit my head every morning here. Guaranteed.Swift is a fan of real estate, they should have marketed this home to her! A little research reveals that this house has an offer pending, so it may be too late for her to go home. To see more images visit the listing here or Zillow here.

This converted church in Mount Kisco, New York, looks more like a Thomas Kinkade painting then a residential home. While I’m not a fan of paintings of picturesque homes, I’d love to live in something this beautiful. What curb appeal! I would purposefully go somewhere every evening so I could return at dusk and see this setting. The 2,772 square foot home was recently on the market for $549,900, but was pulled off last month. The structure was built in 1903 and it has 4 bedrooms and 3.5 baths. It has stained glass windows, cathedral ceilings, 3 fireplaces and wide plank floors. This layout shows the flow of the home. I’d be curious how they use the great hall since they already have a living room and family room. So clearly this home needs a little updating. Someone needs to strip that wallpaper stat! But, I can see it has a brick fireplace in the dining area and the kitchen is pretty open to this room.There is even more wallpaper to strip in the galley kitchen. It looks like they had to update the hardwoods in the kitchen. Such a pet peeve of mine, two different hardwoods in adjoining rooms!The next two images are all bedroom shots. I like how the home has lot of curves, and fireplaces. I don’t like how much wallpaper is here! Someone really loved wallpaper. I like how these hardwoods are stained darker. These may be some of the widest plank hardwoods I’ve ever seen.To see more images of this converted church home visit Zillow.

Creative power couple Jonathan Adler and Simon Doonan were recently featured in their Shelter Island home in the Hampton’s Magazine. They look like so much fun! I’d love to spend a weekend with them. But, only a weekend. It feel like their quirky personalities and tireless energy would be exhausting! Plus, they’d need to outfit me with colorful socks, I definitely don’t have any colorful socks.

This looks like this isn’t their doggy’s first moped ride. Somewhere in my closet I have a hat like this. I could easily fit into this scene!Paddleboarding in their infinity pool. Simon has the better idea. The mother in me wants to scream—sit down Jonathan, if you fall you’ll hit your head! Save that for the open water.Finally they’re lounging. Bright and poppy beach towels add even more whimsy to their life. I found some high end Jonathan Adler towels here, and a more affordable option here.Can you imagine having enough space to dedicate a room to 70’s hanging rattan chairs? I have to admit I thought these were cool in the 70’s. But, I was a child. Not a fan anymore. This is where Jonathan and Simon can hang while I get some alone time on Shelter Island.These images were so much fun I had to do some more shopping for Jonathan Adler. First on my list is his latest book, “100 Ways to Happy Chic Your Life.”

Adler broke into the business with pottery. I just read he first discovered pottery at summer camp at age 12. And, he was wearing a Rush t-shirt! I’m in love with this whale pitcher, classic and campy at the same time. It can be found here.

This super cute bud vase shows there are two sides to everything! Just turn it around to change up your decor. It can be found here.

While Jonathan Adler specializes in white pottery, he also (obviously) loves pops of color. He now sells wall art kits called Wall Pops that feature picture frames, patterns, flower and more. Two of my favorites are below and can be found here and here.

If you’d like to see more of Adler and Doonan’s Shelter Island home visit here.

I was green with envy when I saw Ellen and Portia’s Hidden Valley Farm in Elle Decor. Now, it’s for sale. If I just had an extra $12.995 million it could be mine! The images in the magazine spread were gorgeous. Now, with the listing photos, we get to see another view.

The home has over 26 acres and multiple structures. It has eight guest cabins, an art barn, a horse barn, and a yoga pavilion! The design is contemporary farmhouse, which I’m a big fan of. Lots of painted white surfaces, wood floors, and simple furnishings.

I took some time and compared the real estate listing images to the Elle Decor images. This looks to be Cabin 6. Ellen has a passion for design and worked with a team to renovate the property in just one year. You can view the Elle Decor image here.

This is Cabin 8. It looks like there is always fresh cut wood ready for a fire in the guest cabins. If Ellen and Portia were inviting me for a weekend, I’d be quite happy here with the cathedral ceilings and comfortable couch. The Elle Decor image can be seen here.

Here is another guest cabin. I love the leather chair near the fireplace. It reminds me of my favorite mid-century modern chair from Crate and Barrel. I’d love to pick one of these up to flank my fireplace. This room is great example of how less is more. The space isn’t huge, and the kitchen looks be to functional, yet sparse. Love!The guest bedrooms look inviting. I wish we could know who has graced these rooms.The sprawling porch would be a great place to relax with a book on a lazy summer day.These next two images are from the art barn. This truly is open concept! They’ve hung a chalkboard and placed tables to give borders to the kitchen area. Images can also be seen here and here. There are areas to dine and to lounge. This looks an amazing place to host a party!My favorite image from the listing is this one. How gorgeous is this? I love the hanging lanterns from the tree. I found something similar here, it could be hung with some twine around tree branches. Or a more colorful (and affordable) version could be found here.Ellen and Portia are listing this home because they recently bought a 13-acre ocean-view estate in Montecito, California for $24.5 million. To visit the listing for Hidden Valley Farm click here. To see the Elle Decor article go here.

The year was 1986 and one movie stood out. “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” was written and directed by John Hughes. If you haven’t seen the film, you should. If for nothing else, you should watch it to get a closer look at the gorgeous home of character Cameron Frye. And for just $1.5 million dollars, you can own it!

The home is located in Highland Park, a suburb of Chicago. The main house has four bedrooms and was built in 1953. It was designed by A. James Speyer, a disciple of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. It was about 20 years later that the pavilion was designed by David Haid to house an exotic car collection.

The home is a mid-century masterpiece! It’s been on and off the market for the last few years. It was listed in 2009 for $2.3 million before taking several reductions. It was taken off the market in 2011.

The home has been renovated and has new interior and exterior steel windows, new roofs, and new carpet.

While the home is gorgeous empty, it’s fun to see some images with a decorated space. I love the wood ceilings and the design of the home makes it a great place to hang art.To see more images and the listing go here. To read more about the home and see the video clip where the 1961 Ferrari goes crashing through the glass click here. If you want to reminisce with your own copy of Ferris Bueller’s Day Off click here.

Every time I’m in Target I have to swing into their furniture aisle to check out their accent chairs. I’m always impressed by the selection. Stripes, checks, florals, and more! Right now, most of Target’s accent chairs are on sale or clearance. The Hayden Collection above ranges from $95 to $190.

The Avington Collection of upholstered slipper chairs has patterns for every personality. There is even a preppy plaid! And, if you click through you’ll see a trendy chevron pattern. They run from $84-$169.

The Hudson Collection includes florals, a houndstooth, and even a few velvet options. They run from $119-$199.

The Dolce Collection are upholstered armchairs in a bevy of patterns. There are lots of neutrals and even a zebra pattern! They range from $115-$229.

The Portland Collection tub chairs have tapered legs and curved arms. Plus, lots of fun, poppy patterns. They are as low as $124 and up to $249.